Bentley Mitchum Movies

Some young people lost in the woods pick the wrong cabin while looking for help in this story of horror and suspense. Jeremiah (Rodger Hewlett) was raised by his mother (Tracy Scoggins), a woman with a paranoid fear of strangers and outsiders, in a small cabin in a remote woodland community. Mother's fears became all too real one day when an intruder broke into her home, raping and murdering her as Jeremiah looked on. Since then, Jeremiah, deeply disturbed, has never left the house and has had almost no contact with the outside world. A group of college students led by Lehman (Mario Lopez) set out on a weekend of hiking and camping when they encounter a few rather eccentric locals, and before long they find themselves lost. They discover a small cabin in the woods, and decide to take a look inside, where they discover Jeremiah -- and find he doesn't take kindly to strangers. Crack in the Floor also features Gary Busey, Rance Howard, Bo Hopkins, and David Naughton. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this violent actioner, a vengeful criminal escapes from prison and heads off to ruin the life of the one responsible for his incarceration. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Conviction is a biopic about Carl Upchurch, a hardcore felon who managed to educate himself and developed a spiritual awakening during one of his numerous stints inside prison. He began to spread his message to other inmates, and soon he was asked to help mediate problems between some of the most feared street gangs in the country. Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, Conviction stars Omar Epps as Upchurch and features supporting turns from Dana Delany and Charles S. Dutton. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A runaway train barrels through the Mexican countryside, and the only hope for its passengers is a special agent with one gun and a whole bag of tricks in this pulse-pounding effort from low-budget action king Yossi Wein. A band of escaped prisoners have armed themselves and boarded a train, and it's only a matter of time before they begin to execute the frightened passengers. As the high-speed train thunders across the countryside, the safety of everyone on board lies in the hands on one man -- Special Agent Ryan (Bryan Genesse). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An early, derivative effort from Charles Band's incredibly prolific direct-to-video outfit Full Moon Productions, this is an undercooked stew of a dozen horror plots, particularly Child's Play and Night of the Living Dead. A tough lady-cop (Tracy Scoggins) is forced to curtail her task of collaring a pair of sleazy gun-smugglers in an abandoned toy warehouse when the toys suddenly spring to life at the command of a murderous demon-child. While the policewoman tries vainly to organize the hapless humans trapped in the warehouse (pudgy rent-a-cop, transient, chicken delivery boy), the possessed playthings move in for the kill. The silly proceedings are helped along by whirlwind editing, the attractive, butt-kicking Scoggins, and a colorful assortment of monsters -- including a fanged jack-in-the-box, a laser-shooting robot, a ferocious teddy bear and the potty-mouthed "Baby Oopsy-Daisy." Though pretty slick overall, the entire exercise is flattened by the script's dreadful attempts at humor -- particularly from the demon himself, whose stupid Freddy Krueger-isms are like nails on a blackboard. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

In this sci-fi thriller, a young musician living on another planet sets off for revenge against the egomaniacal corporate fiend responsible for the murder of his twin brother. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

There have been almost enough Meatballs to make a plate of spaghetti, but this entry about a decisive boxing match between two youth camps is basically inedible without Bill Murray to add the necessary zest, as he did in the original Meatballs. "The Flash" (John Mengatti) is out on probation but has to serve time at Camp Sasquatch as a counselor-in-training (!) as a part of the probation terms. There, he meets the super-innocent Cheryl (Kim Richards), adding interest to his job, but none of the characters in Camp Sasquatch or its rival Camp Patton add much interest to the film. Hershey (Hamilton Camp) is the one-dimensional fascist who runs the militaristic Camp Patton and sure enough, his aide-de-camp is a closet gay (John Larroquette). (Paul Reubens) of Pee Wee Herman fame is a minor player, Richard Mulligan is Giddy (an apt name for his character) and when these oddballs are combined with a strange- looking alien and the final boxing match that will save Camp Sasquatch if only The Flash can win, the pastiche is somewhat hard to digest. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this comedy/drama, teen-aged Tony (Bentley C. Mitchum) has never known who is father is. Together with his best buddies Peter and Susan, he tracks down the clues he has as well as he can. Meanwhile, the twin brother of a Spanish priest has set out from where he lives in order to find his son, whom he has never met. (The priest and his twin are played by Christopher Mitchum.) The two search parties meet in the village where the priest lives, giving rise to all sorts of misunderstandings - for instance, that the priest was the father, and not his twin brother, whose existence no one else knows about. This leads to all sorts of trouble for the priest from his diocesesan bishop (Ernest Borgnine) and other priests. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Florida-based independent filmmaker Victor Nuñez gave young actress Ashley Judd her breakthrough role with his original script about a woman taking to the road to escape her past and forge a new future for herself. Feeling smothered and confused after the death of her mother, Ruby Lee Gissing flees her Tennessee home. She drives south to the panhandle of Florida, because she has always dreamed of living near the ocean. Mildred Chambers (Dorothy Lyman), the owner of a souvenir shop, hires her as a clerk and befriends Ruby as well. Soon, there are two men in Ruby's life: Mike McCaslin (Todd Field) and Mildred's ne'er-do-well son, Ricky (Bentley Mitchum). Although Ruby briefly succumbs to the advances of one of them, by the film's end, she is still on her own, understanding that a new chapter of her life is just beginning. In addition to the picture taking home the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Judd was nominated for Best Actress by the New York Film Critics and won Best Female Lead at the Independent Spirits. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

This adaptation of Stephen King's thriller is about a man who returns to his hometown after 27 years. Soon he is tormented by ghosts of the dead teens who killed his brother years before. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

John McNaughton's flawed but interesting follow-up to Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer languished in distribution limbo for years before its brief theatrical run and subsequent video release. It presents a completely different breed of killer: an alien criminal who is exiled to life on Earth in human form. As if that weren't punishment enough, the creature's human guise is susceptible to frequent head-eruptions, creating the constant need for replacement heads. This leads to a grim and violent series of episodes in which the creature pops the tops of various citizens, ranging from a kindly, homeless eccentric (Antonio Fargas) to a lascivious doctor (Tony Amendola)... at one point, he even "borrows" the head of a dog! Following the trail of discarded heads are two cops (Rae Dawn Chong and Don Gordon), who eventually begin to suspect they're not dealing with the M.O. of the average serial killer. A few creative plot twists (particularly at the conclusion), grim atmosphere and generally good performances enliven this one-note material, which nevertheless fails to measure up to the harrowing, character-driven horror of McNaughton's acclaimed debut feature. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi